


Rhetorical questions

by patwrites



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Fluff, Happy Ending, Kinda, M/M, Pre-Slash, Worries, doubts, dw everything works out in the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-16
Updated: 2018-11-16
Packaged: 2019-08-24 15:10:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16642601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/patwrites/pseuds/patwrites
Summary: And you ask "What if I fall?"Oh but my darling,What if you fly?





	Rhetorical questions

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Late night life choices](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11599176) by [NikaAnuk](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NikaAnuk/pseuds/NikaAnuk). 



Arthur didn't fear many things, not really. He hadn't feared the military back when he first enrolled nor when shit hit the fan and he realized that dreamshare wasn't that noble of a project. He never feared death even when it lurked behind every corner, every shadow, ghosted over him every day so close that he could feel its breath on the back of his neck. Arthur wasn't a fearful man, but there was one thing that terrified him more than anything: love.

There weren't many people lucky enough to have been loved by Arthur. If he tried hard enough maybe he could count them all on one hand, but even that was a stretch. It just wasn't his thing, alright? Especially in his line of work, love was useless -even worse than that, it was dangerous-. He couldn't afford to lose track of what was important on a mission because he'd been too busy worrying about a loved one or mooning over a lover and he definitely couldn't have a third party be used as leverage against him either. He just couldn't.

But Eames. Even saying his name made Arthur's stomach twist in the most pleasant of ways and he hated every second of it. Every second of vulnerability.

Eames had crawled under his skin, rearranged his heart and lungs, and settled somewhere in between, occupying Arthur's entire ribcage and making it hard to breathe. Sometimes his breath would stutter and Arthur would know, he just would, that it was because of Eames. The con man had a way of affecting him even if he was on the opposite side of the globe.

But maybe more than he feared putting his loved one in danger or having a weakness, Arthur was absolutely terrified of getting his heart broken. The prospect of him and Eames engaging in a romantic relationship led to so many variables, so many ways to fuck everything up forever both emotionally and professionally that it left Arthur scared shitless. Whenever he was in the same room as Eames, but especially when they were alone, all he could think about was kissing Eames, touching Eames, fucking Eames. Which would lead to questions such as

_**What if he rejects you?** _

_**What if he gets bored of you once he has you?** _

_**What if your crazy is too much for him and he dumps you?** _

_**What if you fuck it up so badly that he'll hate you afterwards?** _

"Darling, you're thinking so loudly I can hear you from the other side of the room."

And this is one such occasion.

They're stuck in a 2 star, one-bed hotel room, Arthur lying on the bed with his head propped up against the creaky headboard while Eames is sitting on the armchair on the other side of the bedroom, twirling his poker chip idly in his hands. Arthur can't help but watch, transfixed, as Eames' calloused fingers expertly make the chip flow from one finger to the other, and admire the way he's gently biting on his plush, pink lips in concentration. Eames' eyes are focused on him now though, watching Arthur in worry with an underlying trace of affection lurking behind his eyes.

"I'm always thinking. You should try it sometime, Mr. Eames."

Eames snorts, eyes glinting again with amusement and mischief then he resumes his twirling without taking his eyes off of Arthur.

"What's on your mind, love? You can tell me."

"What are you, my shrink?" Arthur mocks, maybe a bit too much bite in his tone but he can't help it, not when Eames is being so considerate and nice and making it so much harder for Arthur to fight back the urge to launch himself across the room and kiss the breath out of him.

"If that's what you need, darling," Eames inclines his head, takes his eyes off of Arthur for a second to stop the chip from falling just in time, then settles his gaze back on him. "Come on, a penny for your thoughts."

Arthur opens his mouth to tell Eames where exactly he can shove that penny but the arrival of room service interrupts the moment before he can. He's grateful for the distraction and doesn't hesitate to jump to his feet and open the door for the elderly, Latina woman bringing them their dinner with a motherly smile on her face. Arthur thanks her and makes sure to tip her generously before she leaves and he closes the door behind her.

They eat, leave the food cart in a corner where it won't bother either of them, then they each take turns taking a shower. When Arthur comes out of the bathroom he is greeted by the sight of a half naked Eames lounging on his side of the bed, reading today's newspaper and wearing a pair of hideously orange reading glasses.

"I didn't know you wore glasses," Arthur remarks as he makes his way to the night stand to put his toiletry bag back in his suitcase and trying very hard not to stare at Eames' naked chest. His gaze is hungry for the sight of those marvelous tattoos, curiosity making his fingers itch to trace every line and unfold every secret meaning behind them. He makes himself busy rearranging his already orderly suitcase to stop himself from making a mindless mistake.

"I wear contacts during jobs, I learned quickly they get in the way," Eames explains with a smile. He wets his thumb to flip the page of the newspaper and it's all Arthur can do not to scream in frustration at the other man. It's like he's doing it on purpose. "Aren't you going to get in bed, love?"

"In a minute," Arthur grumbles to hide his embarrassment. He fumbles around for a few more seconds until he runs out of things to fuss over then he admits defeat and very slowly, very carefully peels the blanket off his side of the bed and slides underneath. The room is deadly silent for what feels like an eternity, only the sounds of their breathing and the newspaper rustling in Eames' hands disturbing the silence, and Arthur's body is coiled tightly like a spring, ready to jump the minute the pressure is gone. He can feel tension building in between his shoulder blades.

Eames sighs then, folds the newspaper and deposits it on his nightstand neatly.

"How long are you going to walk on eggshells around me for, Arthur? Just come out and say what's on your mind so we can do something about it or move on." Eames sounds tired in a way he never does, which worries Arthur and is probably the only reason he dares turn his head to look at him. Their eyes lock onto each other, and suddenly it feels like the breath has been knocked out of Arthur and his surroundings disappear, leaving only Eames in front of him. It sounds cheesy, Arthur knows, but there really is no other way to explain it.

"What if I ruin everything?" Arthur whispers, because it's the truth. He's afraid that once they're together, he'll lose all the playful flirting, the funny games Eames likes to play when he can tell the weariness is weighing on his shoulders. He's scared Eames will no longer smile that crooked smile of his when he calls Arthur "darling" and he won't have the same fondness in his eyes when Arthur teases him and calls him "Mr. Eames". It's been this way for years and Arthur really, truly doesn't know how he'd survive if all of that would vanish suddenly because of one, stupid, greedy mistake.

"But what if you don't?" Eames whispers back, eyes serious and behind them Arthur can read everything he needs to know. That it's not guaranteed that it will work out, that everything could go to hell tomorrow, but so could they. Life's unpredictable, especially theirs, and it really isn't worth wasting with worries and fears. So in that moment Arthur decides to throw caution to the wind for the first time in his life and kisses Eames, shy and uncertain at first then with all the passion of a starved lover, putting everything he's been feeling and wanting for the past years into that one, breathtaking kiss.

They break apart, panting, a string of saliva still connecting their bruised lips, both of them wearing the dopiest smiles in existence.

"Well, darling. How does it feel to fly?" Eames asks with a grin and Arthur smiles back stronger than ever.

**Author's Note:**

> Despite having watched the movie a few weeks ago and having read quite a lot of fics, it's only now that I've written something for arthur/eames and though it's short, I'm happy with this little piece.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did and don't hesitate to leave feedback!
> 
> Find me on tumblr as well @armoredavengers!


End file.
